Internet based system and method for wagering on an artist

ABSTRACT

Examples of systems and methods for wagering on an artist are disclosed. In one example according to aspects of the present disclosure, a computer implemented method for wagering on an artist includes: obtaining, by an electronic exchange of a wagering system server, an initial value for a metric related to the artist from a popularity profiling system server; receiving, by the electronic exchange, a transaction request from a client computer, wherein the transaction request relates to a wager on a future value of the metric related to the artist; generating, by the electronic exchange, a wager metric related to the transaction; and predicting, by a prediction engine of a wagering system server, the future value of the metric related to the artist based on the initial value of the metric and the wager metric.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/927,030 filed Nov. 5, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,122,749, which isincorporated herein by reference and which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/280,244, filed Nov. 2, 2009, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/927,030 is a continuation-in-part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/322,625 filed Feb. 4, 2009, now U.S. Pat.No. 9,323,836, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/065,284filed Feb. 11, 2008, which are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the field of applications forInternet based websites. Moreover, it pertains specifically to a systemand method for wagering on an artist. In the preferred embodiment,system participants use an electronic exchange to place wagers relatedto the popularity profile of an artist.

2. Description of Related Art

Existing internet based wagering systems typically provide tools tofacilitate a wager made between two or more parties, while providinglittle or no guidance as to the wager amount or the terms of the wager,except where the odds of a wager are predetermined and otherwise easilycalculated (e.g. betting games such as poker and craps). Them is a lackof innovation in the related art regarding the automated determinationof a wager amount or the payout of a wager for events related to artistsand their created content.

Existing systems that facilitate the wagering associated with an artistor an artist's created content generally rely on predeterminedheuristics and the characteristics from prior or pending wagers todetermine wager payouts. As with other systems, the wager payoutsassociated with such wagering suffer from significant inefficiencieswhere the volume of wagers or the quality and variety of informationabout the object of the wagers are insufficient to effectively determinea wager payout amount. As such, it is an object of the present inventionto provide an Internet based system and method that overcomes thesedeficiencies by relying in part on a popularity profile of an artist todetermine in an automated manner a more optimal payout of a wager.

SUMMARY

In view of the limitations now present in the prior art, the presentinvention provides a new and useful Internet based system and method forwagering on an artist, which is simpler in use, more universallyfunctional and more versatile in operation than known applications ofthis kind. It is also a purpose of the present invention to provide anew Internet, based system and method for wagering on an artist whichhas many novel features not offered by the prior art applications thatresult in a new Internet based system and method for wagering on anartist which is not apparent, obvious, or suggested, either directly orindirectly by any of the prior art applications.

Artists may include musicians, writers and book authors, filmmakers,graphic artists and painters, actors, entertainers and other creators ofart and media content. While the preferred embodiment focuses on musicartists, it is to be understood that the present invention may embodyartists of other content and, as such, references to music describedherein may be substituted with other created content.

The goal of present invention disclosed herein, otherwise referred to as“The Wagering System,” is to provide an electronic exchange whereby aparticipant can make a wager based on one or more metrics related to anartist or an artist's popularity profile. A wager refers to a bet on afuture outcome of a metric related to an artist. The outcome of a wagerin the Wagering System is determined by the value of a metric orplurality of metrics related to an artist at a future date. This metricor plurality of metrics is based, at least in a part, on data related toan artist's popularity profile provided by a Popularity Profiling Systemas described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/322,625. Such datamay include a score or set of scores. An example of a metric related toa popularity profile is a score and the success of a wager on thatmetric would depend on the outcome of the score at a future time.

In one embodiment, a wager may be made by a participant at no cost andthe participant risks no currency while earning points or other virtualcurrency if the wager is won. In the preferred embodiment, a wagerconsists of some amount of virtual currency that is placed at risk ofloss by the participant if the actual outcome of the metric or pluralityof metrics does not match the outcome expected by the wager. If theactual and expected outcomes match, or the wager is otherwise deemedsuccessful, the participant who placed the wager earns points or othervirtual currency.

In the preferred embodiment, The Wagering System provides the capabilityto incorporate widgets, and badges on participants' and artists'websites (including their MySpace page, Facebook page and the like),allowing them to interact with the Wagering System and/or display theirwinnings, and/or other measures of performance related to the WageringSystem. A participant, can make a wager using a widget such as an iPhoneapplication, an Android operating system based application, or anotherrich Internet application. Also, a participant can display theparticipant's wager winnings and/or other measures of performancethrough a widget.

In the preferred embodiment, the present invention also embodies asystem and method for conducting and hosting a variety of Internet basedcontests through a website or a widget that will allow participants tocompete against each other with respect to the amount of their virtualcurrency or the status of wager, goal, rank, vote, popularity metric orother type of metric using the present invention disclosed herein as theWagering System.

In the preferred embodiment, the present invention further embodies asystem and method for maintaining and displaying a list of participantsvia a website or a widget that will show participants in ranked order orcategorize participants into groups using in one or more metrics relatedto virtual currency, wagering, and voting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the server/client network relationshipof the Wagering System server, Popularity Profiling System server,information server(s) and client(s).

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the Wagering System in the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the process for placing and evaluating a wager.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Although the following detailed description, contains many specifics forthe purposes of illustration, anyone of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that many variations and alterations to the following detailsare within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the followingembodiments of she invention are set forth without any loss ofgenerality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the claimedinvention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computing environment in which preferredembodiments are implemented. The computing environment 100 includes atleast the Wagering System server 101, at least one cheat computer 102,the Popularity Profiling System (EPS) Server 103, and, optionally, oneor more information servers represented by 103, wherein systems 101,102, 103 and 104 communicate over the Internet 105 and each operate onseparate distinct physical computers (they sham no computing resources)associated with a unique IP address. The Computer software operatingwithin this environment 100 may employ software and methods ofapplication, including various pieces of computer code, including, butnot limited to XML, JSON, SOAP, PHP, Java, Javascript, Flash, DHTML,HTML, RSS, VML, Perl, Python, Scala, Objective-C, C# and C/C++.

All systems 101, 102, 103 and 104 communicate using a document transferprotocol such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol, (HTTP) or any otherdocument transfer protocol known in the art, such as FTP, Gopher, WAIS,XMLP, etc. The client computer 102 may include a browser program, suchas an HTML browser, capable of submitting requests using the HTTPprotocol in a manner known in the art. In the preferred embodiment, ifthe client 102 requests the uniform resource locator (URL) for theWagering System Server 101, then the Wagering System Server 101 wouldreturn an HTML page, or any other document based on protocols known inthe art, in which the user at the client may utilize within a webbrowser. Alternatively, the client 102 may include software capable ofrendering a graphical user interface based program such as a richInternet application (RIA) that interacts with the Wagering SystemServer 101, whether directly or through another application, RIAsinclude applications written using HTML5, AJAX, JavaFX, MicrosoftSilverlight, Abode Flex, and Abode AIR. It is understood that RIAs andweb browsers may operate on personal computers and web as mobilecomputers and smart phones, including the iPhone and devicesincorporating Google's Android operating system.

FIG. 1 illustrates the Wagering System 200. The Wagering System 200includes at least an Electronic Exchange 210 and, in the preferredembodiment, includes a Widget Server 220, a Web Server 230, and aPrediction Engine 240. In other embodiments, the Wagering System 200 maynot include a Widget Server 220 if no widgets will be utilized by clientcomputers 102, or it may not include a Web Server 230 if no web browserswill be utilized by client computers 102. The Web Server 230 may berepresented by one or more web servers locally attached to theElectronic Exchange 210, including being incorporated into the sameserver, and/or one or more web servers located remotely that chime theElectronic Exchange 210, whether accessed directly or throughintermediary computers. Likewise, the Widget Server 220 may berepresented by one or more widget servers, locally attached to theElectronic Exchange 210, including being incorporated into the sameserver, and/or one or more widget servers located remotely that utilizethe Electronic Exchange 210, whether accessed directly or throughintermediary computers. The Database 400 may be a dedicated database forthe Wagering System 200 and the Prediction Engine 240 or one shared withother applications. The Wagering System 200 may be used with or withoutthe Prediction Engine 240. In the preferred embodiment, the WageringSystem includes the Prediction Engine 240.

1. Electronic Exchange 210

The Electronic Exchange 210 processes wagers on behalf of participantsof the Wagering System 200. In the preferred embodiment, the ElectronicExchange 210 allows a participant to make a wager to predict the futureoutcome of one or more metrics related to an artist. The metric orplurality of metrics include at least one metric that is a part of, orbased upon, an artist's popularity profile provided by a PopularityProfiling System as discussed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/322,625.

In the preferred embodiment, the popularity profile of an artistincludes one or more scores. Examples of the one or more scores, ortheir equivalents, include, but are not limited to, Fan Score (based onthe number of fans of the artist), Play Score (based on number of playsand downloads of songs for the artist), Conversation Score (based on thenumber of comments, reviews and blog posts related to the artist), RadioScore (based on number of broadcast and online radio song plays of theartist), Concert Score (based on the number and type of upcoming showsfor the artist, ticket sales of pending shows, and the attendance atprior shows), Social Score (based on number of people who recommend theartist or host the artist as a favorite), Music Sales Score (based ononline and retail store sales of music related to the artist), VideoScore (based on number of video plays related to the artist), SentimentScore (based on sentiments expressed by consumers, fans and criticstoward the artist), Hotness Score (based on the market momentum of theartist) and Brand Score (an aggregate score based on the above scores).

In the preferred embodiment, the Electronic Exchange 210 processestransactions using a virtual currency. A virtual currency may be definedas dollars, credits, tokens, points, badges or similar termsrepresentative of value or ranking. The Electronic Exchange 210maintains or accesses an account holding an amount of a virtual currencyfor each participant in the Wagering System 200. The Electronic Exchange210 will debit and credit a participant's account with respect totransactions involving the participant.

In the preferred embodiment, a wager refers to a bet on a future outcomeof a metric or plurality of metrics related to an artist, as notedabove. A wager will include at least two components: (1) an expirationdate and time, and (2) an event predicted to occur by or at theexpiration date and time. An event may include, but is not limited to:an artist's score or other popularity metric reaching a threshold value,an artist's score or other popularity metric rising or falling by athreshold value, an artist being signed or fired by a record label, anartist's song reaching a measure of success, and an artist earning acareer achievement or award. An event may be further defined by musicgenre, consumer demographic, and/or geographic region.

In the preferred embodiment, an wager is requested by a participantusing a client computer 102 and transmitted to the Electronic Exchange210 via the Web Server 230 or the Widget Server 220. Unless the wager isconditional, it is executed upon receipt by the Electronic Exchange 210.A conditional wager will not be executed until the occurrence of aconditional event (such as an artist being nominated for a Grammyaward), and until it is executed, it will have no effect. An executedwager is considered open until it is fulfilled or it expires. A wager isfulfilled when the outcome of the event that is the object of the wagerhas been determined. A fulfilled wager is either won or lost from theperspective of the participant. For a lost wager, the participant losesthe amount wagered. For a won wager, the participant wins the wagerpayout amount as determined by the Electronic Exchange 210, and suchamount is debited to the participant's account. A wager expires if theexpiration date and time is reached prior to the determination of theoutcome of the event that is the object of the wager. In the preferredembodiment, an expired wager is treated the same as a lost wager.

In the preferred embodiment, a wager payout amount is determined by theElectronic Exchange 210 based at least in part on data obtained from thePPS Server 103. The PPS Server 103 maintains, a popularity profile for aplurality of artists, wherein the PPS Server 103 has the capability tolist a metric or plurality of metrics, such as a score or set of scores,related to the popularity profile of each artist in a numerical order.An example of a metric is the Brand Score of an artist, wherein artistsare listed in descending order of the value of the Brand Score. Adistribution is formed from a list by segmenting the list into groups,wherein a group is defined as a range of values. The distribution allowsthe Electronic Exchange 210 to determine the percentage of artistswithin a population of artists that exhibit a metric of which the valuefalls within a group (e.g. 5% of artists exhibit a Brand Score greaterthan 500) A payout factor is then determined from the distribution ofthe probabilities that a future value of the metric will equal or exceedthe wagered outcome (or in cases where the metric is expected todecrease, the wagered outcome will equal or exceed the future value). Byway of example In the preferred embodiment, the payout amount (in theform of a virtual currency) earned for a wager is represented asfollows:

$P_{i} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}{{A\;\lambda} - A} & {{{{if}\mspace{14mu} S_{t}} \geq \overset{.}{S}},} \\{\sim A} & {{{{if}\mspace{14mu} S_{t}} < \overset{.}{S}},}\end{matrix} \right.$where P is the points earned (lost), S_(t) is the future value of ametric (such as a score) at time t, S is the wagered outcome, λ is thepayout factor, and A is the amount wagered.

In the situation where a wager is placed on a quantitative metricencapsulated in an artist's popularity profile or otherwise measured bythe PPS (e.g. a wager that an artist's Brand Score will reach 400),Electronic Exchange 210 determines the wager payout amount based on theprobability that the initial value of a metric at the time the wager wasexecuted will change to the wagered outcome (the outcome which must beachieved in under to win the wagers before the wager expires. Thisprobability is calculated by the Electronic Exchange 210, at least inpart, as a function of the percentage of artists exhibiting the metricat the initial value, the percentage of artists exhibiting the metric atthe wagered outcome, the momentum of the metric (as measured by thePPS), the duration of the wager period (the time before expiration), andwagers placed by other participants in the Wagering System 200 for thesame or related metric. In the situation where a wager is placed on aqualitative metric (e.g., a wager that an artist will win a Grammyaward), the probability is calculated from a quantified metric orplurality of metrics encapsulated in an artist's popularity profile, orotherwise measured by the PPS, that best serves as an indicator for thequalitative metric that is the basis of the wager.

2. Widget Server 220

The Widget Server 220 acts as an interface between the Wagering System200 and any applications operating on a client computer 102 that provideor receive data to or from the Wagering System 200. An example of awidget is an application that runs on an iPhone and allows the iPhoneoperator to place wagers through the Wagering System 200. The WidgetServer 220 may provide or receive data using an application programminginterface (API), web services, file exchange, or other techniques knownin the art. In the preferred embodiment, data is exchanged between theWidget Server 220 and the client computer 102 in a structured formatwhich conforms to a protocol such as XML or JSON.

In the preferred embodiment, the Widget Server 220 maintains a list ofuniform resource locators (URLs) associated with client computers 102that host the widgets. The Widget Server 220 pushes data or commands tothe widgets operating on the client computers 102 according toconfiguration settings for each widget that Indicates what data is to bepushed and the time or frequency to push it. Further, widgets can relayinformation to the Widget Server 220 based on a user request or via anautomated process, such as a notification of status, an event occurrenceor an alert. Generally, active widgets listen for commands or data sentfrom the Widget Server 220, and the Widget Server 220 listens forrequests from widgets.

3. Web Server 230

The Web Server 230 acts an interface between the Trading System 200 andany browser applications operating on a client computer 102. Itgenerates one or more web pages which may utilize data from the Database400. A typical web page is a document composed in languages, protocolsand formats including, but not limited to, HTML, DHTML, Java,Javascript, JSP, ASP, PHP, Python, Perl, Ruby, Scala, Erlang, C#, C/C++,JSON and XML; it may be implemented with other computer protocols,languages, and techniques known in the art. A web user may register onthe website, providing personal and/or login information, in order toprocure a website based user account and gain access to restricted webpages and/or features. The Web Server 230 may also exchange data anddocuments with the Widget Server 220 for use with widgets and 3^(rd)party applications.

In the preferred embodiment, a client computer 102 requests a web pagefrom the Web Server 230 via a web browser. At least one web page ispresented to a participant that provides the current status and outcomeof the one or more wagers and/or trades of shares made by theparticipant. Also in the preferred embodiment, a web page may bepresented, that lists participants in order of performance as measuredby one or more metrics including, but not limited to, the amount ofcurrency in a participant's account, the amount of currency gained orlost in one or more wagers, and the number or percentage of favorable orunfavorable wagers made by a participant.

4. Database 400

The Database 400 stores information utilized by the Wagering System 200.One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the Database 400can be implemented using a variety of open source and commercialproducts and tools.

5. Prediction Engine 240

The Prediction Engine 240 performs data analysis and makes predictionsabout artists based on data provided by the Wagering System 200 and thePopularity Profiling System Server 103. Other data may also be utilizedA prediction may include the future performance or popularity of anartist or an artist's content as measured by wagers, music sales, onlineplays, scores, or other metrics reflected in data obtained from theWagering System 200 and the Popularity Profiling System Server 103.

In the preferred embodiment, the Prediction Engine 240 estimates thefuture value of a metric, such as a score as part of the popularityprofile of an artist, based at least in part on wagers placed byparticipants of the Wagering System 200.

In the preferred embodiment, the Prediction Engine 240 makes aprediction of a future value based on a metric or plurality of metrics,such as a criterion, set of criteria, score or set of scores associatedwith an artist's popularity profile as determined by a PPS operating onPopularity Profiling System Server 103. Examples of a metric includemusic sales, song downloads and plays, attendance at concerts, apopularity score, and other measures of popularity and music demand. Theprediction is a function of at least the amounts of the wagers, thewager payouts, the duration of the wagers (the difference between thetime of execution and either expiration or fulfillment), the wageredoutcomes, the actual outcomes, and the historical win/loss record of theparticipants. The Prediction Engine 240 will make one or multiplepredictions for each metric. For multiple predictions, the PredictionEngine 240 calculates a probability distribution for the set ofpredictions related to a metric, wherein each prediction in the set isassigned a probability (0% to 100%) or similar indicator that theprediction will be correct (i.e. a confidence level). The PredictionEngine 240 further calculates a margin of error for each prediction toindicate its expected accuracy. Further, for some metrics such asscores, a prediction function incorporates a trend analysis of anartist's historical scores and/or other metrics associated with apopularity profile. This is illustrated by the following examples:S _(t+l) =F(S _(l . . . t),),  (1)S _(t+l) =F(S _(l . . . t) , M _(l . . . n, l . . . t)),  (2)S _(t+l) =F(S _(l . . . t) , M _(l . . . n, l . . . t) , W_(l . . . n, l . . . t)), and  (3S _(t+l) =F(S _(l . . . t) , M _(l . . . n, l . . . t) , W_(l . . . n, l . . . t) , S _(l . . . t)), and  (4)S _(t+l) =F(S _(l . . . t) , M _(l . . . n, l . . . t) , W_(l . . . n, l . . . t) , S _(l . . . t) , E _(1 . . . t)).   (5)where S_(t+l) is the predicted value of a score (e.g. brand strength) attime t+l, S_(l . . . t) is the set of historical values of the score Sfor a prior period of time incrementally defined in units l through t,M_(l . . . n,l . . . t) is a set of n different historical metrics(which may include retrieved data or other scores) for the prior period,W_(l . . . n, l . . . t) is a set of n different wagers related to thescore for the prior period. S_(l . . . t) is a set of prior predictionsof the score S, if any, made by the Prediction Engine 240 for the priorperiod, and E_(l . . . t) is a set of error values (e.g. S₁-S₁, S₂-S₂, .. . S₁-S₁, . . . , S₁-S₁) for the prior period. The function ƒ( ) may bedefined as a mathematical operation (or set of operations) on the inputs(which may include S_(l . . . t), M_(l . . . n, l . . . t),W_(l . . . n,l . . . t), S_(l . . . t) and E_(l . . . t)). By way ofexample, ƒ( ) could represent a trend estimation technique such as theleast squares method, weighted least squares method, or other method oflinear regression. As another example, ƒ( ) could represent a patternrecognition technique such as a neural network or a hidden Markov model.

Also in the preferred embodiment, the Wagering System 200 and othercomponents described herein are used as part of an Internet based game.In one version of the game, a player assumes the role of a musicprofessional (e.g. a music “scout” in the game MusicScout.com) with thegoal of predicting which artists and/or songs will be successful. Aplayer earns points or other virtual currency via a wager payout bymaking accurate predictions. Success of an artist or an artist's contentis gauged at least in part by an artist's popularity profile asdetermined by the PPS. It may also be gauged by me results of wagersconducted via the Wagering System 210. It may be further gauged byresults from the Prediction Engine 240.

FIG. 3 illustrates wager process 300 via the Wagering System 200 in thepreferred embodiment. In the first step 310, a participant places awager regarding a score related an artist's popularity profile asdetermined by the PPS operating on the Popularity Profiling SystemServer 103. The wager payout may be calculated prior to or after a wageris placed. Following step 310, the Wagering System 200 checks to seewhether sufficient funds are available in the participant's account. Ifso, the amount of the wager is deducted from the account in step 330 andthe wager is executed. The wager is then monitored at step 340,periodically checking the outcome of the metric that is the subject ofthe wager until the expiration or fulfillment of the wager. The wager isevaluated to determine if it was successful at step 340. (A wager may beevaluated prior to expiration, for example, if its success if based onthe mere passing of a threshold value at some point in time regardlessof its value at expiration.) If the wager was successful, theparticipant's account is increased by the wager payout amount at step360. If not successful, the wager is evaluated to determine If it hasexpired at step 370.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly several advantages sad objects of the present inventioninclude but are not limited to:

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a WageringSystem and Method that will overcome the deficiencies of the prior artdevices.

An object of the present invention is to provide a Wagering System andMethod that will provide a means for participants to make wagers, tradesand/or predictions related to one or more measures of the popularity andperformance of an artist or an artist's content, such as the measuresassociated with an artist's popularity profile.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a Wagering Systemand Method that will predict which bands, musicians and artists willlikely become commercially successful, or which exhibit a high potentialfor commercial success, based at least in part on the wagers placed viathe Wagering System related to the artists or the artists' music.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a Wagering Systemand Method which is incorporated into an internet based game.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a Wagering Systemand Method which has mobile ability; including being accessible throughmobile phones, PDAs and other mobile Internet based devices such as theiPhone.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a Wagering Systemand Method which is accessible through web browsers, widgets and RIAs.

It is intended that any other advantages and objects of the presentinvention that become apparent or obvious from the detailed descriptionor illustrations contained herein are within the scope of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer system for wagering on an artist,comprising: a popularity profiling system server comprising a processorand a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory storesexecutable instructions for causing the processor to determine aplurality of metrics related to the popularity profile of the artist,wherein at least one metric of the plurality of metrics is based onsentiment analysis performed by the popularity profiling system server,wherein the sentiment analysis comprises analyzing sentiments comprisedin published reviews of the artist by a plurality of consumers; and awagering system server comprising an electronic exchange comprising aprocessor and a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memorystores executable instructions for causing the processor to obtain aninitial value of each metric related to the popularity profile of theartist from popularity profiling system server, receive a plurality oftransaction requests from a plurality of client computers incommunication with the wagering system server, each transaction requestrelated to a wager on a future value of at least one metric related tothe popularity profile of the artist, and generate a plurality of wagermetrics related to the plurality of transaction requests; and aprediction engine comprising a processor and a memory coupled to theprocessor, wherein the memory stores executable instructions for causingthe processor to obtain the plurality of wager metrics and the initialvalue of the at least one metric related to the popularity profile ofthe artist, and predict the future value of the at least one metricrelated to the popularity profile of the artist based on the initialvalue of the at least one metric related to the popularity profile ofthe artist and each wager metric.
 2. The computer system of claim 1,wherein each wager metric comprises at least one of an amount of thewager, a wager payout, a duration of the wager, a wager outcome, anactual wager outcome, and a historical win/loss record of a participant.3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the prediction engine isconfigured to make multiple predictions for the future value of the atleast one metric related to the popularity profile of the artist.
 4. Thecomputer system of claim 1, wherein the prediction engine is configuredto make a prediction for the future value of the at least one metricrelated to the popularity profile of the artist based on a trendestimation technique applied to a plurality of historical values of theat least one metric related to the popularity profile of the artist. 5.The computer system of claim 1, wherein the prediction engine isconfigured to make a prediction for the future value of the at least onemetric related to the popularity profile of the artist based on one of apercentage of artists within a population of artists exhibiting theinitial value of the at least one metric related to the popularityprofile of the artist, a momentum of the at least one metric as measuredby the popularity profiling system server, a duration of a wager period,and other wagers for the at least one metric related to the popularityprofile of the artist.
 6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein theelectronic exchange is configured to determine a wager payout amountbased on a wager amount and a payout factor.
 7. The computer system ofclaim 6, wherein the electronic exchange is configured to determine apayout factor based on the future value of the at least one metricrelated to the popularity profile of the artist.
 8. The computer systemof claim 1, wherein the at least one metric related to the popularityprofile of the artist is a qualitative metric related to the popularityprofile of the artist.
 9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the atleast one metric related to the popularity profile of the artist is aquantitative metric related to the popularity profile of the artist. 10.The computer system of claim 1, wherein the wager includes a wageramount, a threshold value, and an expiration date and time, and whereinthe prediction engine is configured to predict the future value of theat least one metric related to the popularity profile of the artist atthe expiration date and time.
 11. A computer implemented method forwagering on an artist, comprising: determining, by a popularityprofiling system server, a plurality of metrics related to thepopularity profile of the artist, wherein at least one metric of theplurality of metrics is based on sentiment analysis performed by thepopularity profiling system server; obtaining, by an electronic exchangeof a wagering system server, an initial value for each metric related tothe popularity profile of the artist from the popularity profilingsystem server; receiving, by the electronic exchange, a transactionrequest from a client computer, wherein the transaction request relatesto a wager on a future value of a particular metric related to thepopularity profile of the artist; generating, by the electronicexchange, a wager metric related to the transaction request; andpredicting, by a prediction engine of a wagering system server, thefuture value of the particular metric related to the popularity profileof the artist based on the initial value of the particular metric andthe wager metric.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein predicting thefuture value of the particular metric related to the popularity profileof the artist includes making multiple predictions for the future valueof the particular metric related to the popularity profile of theartist.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein predicting the future valueof the particular metric related to the popularity profile of the artistincludes applying a trend estimation technique to a plurality ofhistorical values of the particular metric related to the popularityprofile of the artist.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein predictingthe future value of the particular metric related to the popularityprofile of the artist is based on one of a percentage of artists withina population of artists exhibiting the initial value of the particularmetric related to the popularity profile of the artist, a momentum ofthe particular metric as measured by the popularity profiling systemserver, a duration of a wager period, and other wagers for theparticular metric related to the popularity profile of the artist. 15.The method of claim 11, wherein the wager includes a wager amount, athreshold value, and an expiration date and time, and wherein the futurevalue of the particular metric related to the popularity profile of theartist is predicted at the expiration date and time.
 16. Anon-transitory tangible computer readable medium having a set ofinstructions stored therein that when executed by a processing elementcausing the processing element to perform and/or control operationscomprising: determining, by a popularity profiling system server, aplurality of metrics related to the popularity profile of an artist,wherein at least one metric of the plurality of metrics is based onsentiment analysis performed by the popularity profiling system server;obtaining, by an electronic exchange of a wagering system server, aninitial value for each metric related to the popularity profile of theartist from the popularity profiling system server; receiving, at anelectronic exchange of a wagering system server, a plurality oftransaction requests from a plurality of client computers incommunication with the wagering system server, wherein each transactionrequest relates to a wager on a future value of at least one metricrelated to the popularity profile of the artist; generating, at theelectronic exchange, a plurality of wager metrics related to theplurality of transaction requests; and predicting, at a predictionengine, the future value of the at least one metric related to thepopularity profile of the artist based on the initial value of the atleast one metric obtained from the popularity profiling system serverand based on each wager metric obtained from the electronic exchange.17. The non-transitory tangible computer readable medium of claim 16,wherein each wager includes a wager amount, a threshold value, and anexpiration date and time, and wherein the future value of the metricrelated to the popularity profile of the artist is predicted at theexpiration date and time.
 18. The non-transitory tangible computerreadable medium of claim 16, wherein predicting the future value of theat least one metric related to the popularity profile of the artistincludes applying a trend estimation technique to a plurality ofhistorical values of the at least one metric related to the popularityprofile of the artist.
 19. The non-transitory tangible computer readablemedium of claim 16, wherein predicting the future value of the at leastone metric related to the popularity profile of the artist is based onone of a percentage of artists within a population of artists exhibitingthe initial value of the at least one metric related to the popularityprofile of the artist, a momentum of the at least one metric as measuredby the popularity profiling system server, a duration of a wager period,and other wagers for the at least one metric related to the popularityprofile of the artist.
 20. The non-transitory tangible computer readablemedium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise determininga payout factor based on the future value of the metric related to thepopularity profile of the artist.